Letters >

Asylum, benefits and poverty - Charlie Bolton, 11 March 2005

To: Evening Post

Dear Sir

Gil Osman (System targets the wrong immigrants, 9 March) is right to despair of our immigration system. Sadly, she then goes on to berate asylum seekers who live 'entirely on benefits'.

As the refugee council points out, asylum seekers cannot claim mainstream benefits. If destitute, they can apply to the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), the Government department responsible for destitute asylum applicants, for basic food and shelter. A single adult is eligible for £38.96 a week, equivalent to 70% of basic income support.

In December 2003, around 80,000 asylum seekers were receiving Home Office support, compared with 15.5 million Britons on benefits (excluding retirement pensions), meaning that 0.5% of those claiming government support were asylum seekers.

From January 2003 to June 2004, government policy denied even this basic support (under Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) to thousands of asylum seekers. The Government was forced to reinstate support, after an appeal court judge found the policy in breach of asylum seekers' human rights. The Home Secretary is likely to appeal against the Court's decision.

A joint study by Oxfam and the Refugee Council (2002) showed how the asylum system institutionalises poverty. The report revealed that 85% experience hunger, 95% cannot afford to buy clothes or shoes and 80% are not able to maintain good health. Many asylum seekers do not receive the basic support they may be entitled to, because the system is badly designed, extremely bureaucratic and poorly run.

Personally, I despair at the disgraceful nature of the whole immigration debate in this country. It is led by the right-wing media, and our two main political parties are trying to out-Tory each other, by coming up with the most right-wing proposals they can. Of course, you expect the Tories to do this, but the Labour party should be ashamed of itself.

Yours

Charlie Bolton
Parliamentary candidate
Bristol South Green Party